SOUND TIGERS PUSH PAST PENGUINS 3-2

Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Oct. 20, 2012)
– Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin made 34 saves for his third
straight win to open the 2012-13 campaign as Bridgeport defeated the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-2 at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
on Saturday night. With the win, the Sound Tigers remain undefeated to
begin the 2012-13 season and improve to 3-0-0-0. The Penguins remain
winless at 0-3-0-0.

The Sound Tigers were unable to take
advantage of two power plays early on in the game, but broke through
against the Penguins for their first goal midway through the opening
frame. Defenseman Ty Wishart missed wide on a one-time blast from the
top of the right faceoff circle, but the puck caromed off the endboards
to Johan Sundstrom at the left circle. Sundstrom fired the puck past
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie Brad Thiessen for his first pro goal, and
the Sound Tigers led 1-0 with eight minutes left in the first period.

A
fortunate bounce led to the Sound Tigers second goal with 1:46 left in
the opening 20 minutes. Casey Cizikas sent the puck into the Penguins
zone along the left boards and Thiessen came out of his net to play the
puck behind the net. As the puck hugged the boards by the left corner,
it caromed straight out into the slot while Thiessen was still behind
his net. Nino Niederreiter dove towards the slot and pushed the puck in
for his third goal in as many games to begin the 2012-13 campaign, and
the Sound Tigers led 2-0 after the first 20 minutes of play.

The
Penguins dictated much of the action in the second frame and cut their
deficit in half at 7:48 of the period. Poulin made a pair of sprawling
saves, but could not stop the third Penguins rebound attempt as Riley
Holzapfel scored to trim the Sound Tigers lead to 2-1. However, the
Sound Tigers would retake their two-goal advantage courtesy of John
Persson. The line of Persson, Sundstrom and David Ullstrom forced a
turnover in the Penguins zone and attacked the net with just one
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman in front of them. After some neat
tic-tac-toe passing, Persson sent the puck in by the right post for his
second tally of season to give the Sound Tigers a 3-1 lead with 3:28
left in the second stanza.

The Sound Tigers carried that
two-goal lead into the third period, but Penguins forward Eric Tangradi
brought the home team within a goal with four minutes left in
regulation. Poulin made the initial save on a Simon Despres point shot,
but Tangradi sent the rebound over Poulin to make the score 3-2. The
Sound Tigers had a chance to regain their two-goal lead when former
Sound Tiger Dylan Reese covered the puck with his hand in the Penguins
crease, giving the Sound Tigers a penalty shot. Niederreiter was unable
to convert , as Thiessen held his position and made a right pad save on
Niederreiter’s penalty shot attempt at 16:25. The Sound Tigers held off
one last charge from the Penguins who had a power play chance at 16:56
when Colin McDonald was called for tripping. Poulin made big saves
during the penalty kill, and the Sound Tigers held on for the 3-2 win.

The
Sound Tigers return to action next weekend when they continue their
four-game road swing at DCU Center against the Worcester Sharks at 7:00
p.m.